TRAFFIC congestion is continuing to worsen but the rate of increase has declined for the second quarter in succession, according to new figures from Milton Keynes-based Trafficmaster. The company's latest quarterly Motorway Congestion Index reveals that since the data began being collected in 1990 the congestion index has increased 20%. However, the rate of increase has dropped to an all-time low of 1.9% year-on-year.

Although the index reveals that 1.3 million days were wasted by motorists stuck in traffic jams in the first three months of the year it also reveals that the number of vehicles affected (45,439,000), the cost of congestion to UK businesses (£1.528 billion) and lost man hours (31,807,000) were all down on the first quarter of last year, when the figures were 45,719,000, £1.537 billion and 32,003,000 respectively.

The worst motorway hotspot was on the M6 at junction 10 in January when more than 228,000 vehicles were delayed, costing £7.6 million and wasting 6,000 days in lost time.